Charlotte Church says ‘it was heartbreaking’ as she shares cousin’s health ordeal

Charlotte Church has reflected on her cousin’s “heartbreaking” ordeal with health anxiety. Chatting to her relative, former magician Elliot Cooper, in the latest episode of her BBC podcast Kicking Back with the Cardiffians the Cardiff-born singer-songwriter learned about when he first started to struggle with his mental health.

After stopping work as a magician due to anxiety Elliot quickly became interested in photography. He told Charlotte that one day he had climbed Pen y Fan in order to capture a picture from the top and he started to feel a “pulsating” feeling in his neck.

Upon phoning NHS Direct Elliot discovered he’d had a panic attack. He described how after returning home to his mum’s house he became increasingly worried about the same thing happening again.

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Elliot said: “It just got worse and worse and then developed into agoraphobia. I just became practically housebound in my mother's house. I couldn't watch films anymore, I couldn't watch TV, I couldn't play games, and it got to the point where I just couldn't leave the house. I was in such a stage of delusion that I believed that if I got up off the sofa I was going to die.”

Charlotte remembered Elliot calling her when he was exhibiting the symptoms and she said: “It felt like you’d changed overnight. Your world became so small and you became completely overtaken by this idea that there was something wrong with your health and that you were going to imminently die… It was heartbreaking to watch you go through it because there was nothing I could do.”

Elliot replied: “You're basically chasing an answer that doesn't exist because there is nothing wrong. Then you just become absolutely dependent on reassurance, like a drug addict, and reassurance becomes a hit of heroin every single time. So you think: ‘I've got this thing wrong with me.’” He described how he would regularly check his body for issues.

According to the NHS health anxiety is when you spend so much time worrying you're ill, or going to get ill, that it starts to take over your life. It's related to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

If a GP diagnoses you with health anxiety they may refer you for a talking therapy, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), or offer you a medicine for anxiety. You can refer yourself directly to an NHS talking therapies service without a referral from a GP. If you can afford it you can choose to pay for your therapy privately. The cost of private therapy sessions varies but it can cost from £35 upwards per session.

Kicking Back with the Cardiffians is available to listen to on BBC Sounds. For the latest TV and showbiz news sign up to our newsletter.